Faridat Salifu
As the world prepares for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, African negotiators are facing increasing pressure to secure meaningful climate finance that reflects the continent’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change.
With the summit date close by, climate justice movements and environmental organizations are calling on African leaders to prioritize the needs of the continent and push for a new, equitable climate finance framework that addresses the long-standing underfunding of Africa’s adaptation efforts.
At the forefront of these calls is Greenpeace Africa, which, in partnership with various climate justice movements, has issued a formal document to the African Group of Negotiators (AGN).
The document demands that African negotiators push for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance—one that reflects the true scale of the continent’s climate challenges. At its core, the demand calls for a shift from incremental pledges to a robust financial framework that prioritizes public and debt-free climate finance over private or loan-based funds that risk further indebting African economies.
Africa, though contributing only about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, desertification, and flooding are already disrupting livelihoods across the continent.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), some regions in Africa could see temperature increases that are 1.5 times higher than the global average. These climate impacts threaten the continent’s food security, infrastructure, and economic growth.
Despite these mounting challenges, Africa remains chronically underfunded when it comes to adaptation and resilience efforts.
The African Development Bank estimates that the continent will need at least $41.3 billion annually to meet its climate adaptation goals, yet current financing falls far short of this target. The need for new and innovative financing mechanisms is becoming increasingly urgent.
Amos Wemanya, Responsive Campaigns Lead at Greenpeace Africa, highlighted this urgency, saying: “Climate negotiations have perfected the act of kicking the can down the road. COP29 must put a stop to kicking the poor in the stomach.
The climate crisis is biting in Africa. Communities’ lives and livelihoods are on the line. For this COP29 to succeed, an ambitious and needs-based new collective and quantified goal on climate finance must be established.”
Among the key demands outlined by Greenpeace Africa and its partners is the establishment of a Climate Damages Tax (CDT) on fossil fuel extraction. This proposed tax would target oil, coal, and gas companies that continue to profit from fossil fuel exploitation, despite its contribution to climate change.
According to the proposal, revenues from the CDT would be channeled into a global climate fund specifically earmarked for loss and damage, adaptation, and resilience-building in vulnerable regions like Africa.
The CDT is seen as a necessary measure to generate reliable and predictable climate finance, especially as many developed nations continue to fall short on their climate finance pledges. The campaigners argue that relying on voluntary contributions from wealthy nations has proven inadequate, particularly for African countries that need substantial financing for both adaptation and mitigation efforts.
In addition to the CDT, the document calls for public, debt-free financing as a central pillar of any future climate finance framework. This demand is based on the belief that African countries should not be forced to incur additional debt in their fight against a crisis they did little to cause. Currently, many African nations are already grappling with high levels of debt, exacerbated by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Climate finance delivered in the form of loans would only compound this burden.
“We are not asking for charity,” says Wemanya. “This is about climate justice. Africa deserves climate finance that doesn’t push us deeper into debt. Public funds, not loans or private sector investments, should form the backbone of climate finance.”
Another critical demand is the rejection of fossil fuel expansion under the guise of “energy development” in Africa. While some African leaders argue that exploiting the continent’s oil and gas reserves is crucial for economic growth, climate activists warn that continued fossil fuel investment will only lock the continent into a high-carbon future. Such investments, they argue, will delay the necessary transition to renewable energy and exacerbate the climate crisis in the long run.
Greenpeace Africa and its allies have therefore called on African negotiators to reject any support for fossil fuel projects at COP29, labeling them as “dangerous distractions” that undermine climate action. Instead, they advocate for a rapid scale-up of investments in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, which have the potential to provide clean, reliable power to millions of Africans who currently lack access to electricity.
Wemanya elaborated on this point, stating: “Fossil fuel investments are a short-term fix for a long-term crisis. African leaders must resist the temptation to fall back on old energy models that will only lead to more environmental degradation. The future of Africa’s energy needs to be green.”
For COP29 to deliver meaningful outcomes for Africa, unity among African negotiators will be key.
In past climate summits, African countries have often struggled to present a united front, with divisions emerging over how best to approach issues such as fossil fuel development and the role of the private sector in climate finance. However, with the stakes higher than ever, there is hope that the AGN will come to COP29 with a cohesive strategy that puts Africa’s needs front and center.
Many observers are calling for African countries to take a firm stance on the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR), which recognizes that while all countries must take climate action, wealthier nations have a greater responsibility to provide financial and technological support to developing countries. This principle, enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, will likely be a focal point in the negotiations over the new climate finance goal.
COP29 presents a critical opportunity for African countries to reshape the global climate finance landscape.
With the continent facing escalating climate risks, securing adequate, needs-based finance is not just a matter of environmental policy it is a matter of survival.
African negotiators will need to be bold, united, and strategic in their efforts to ensure that COP29 delivers tangible outcomes for the continent.
As the negotiations loom, the message from African civil society is clear: COP29 must not be another missed opportunity. The time for promises has passed it’s time for action.